The Common Cold

I have been coughing for a month and it is probably been the most frustrating illness I have had in quite some time. I have a cold. Or, probably more accurately, I suffer from “the common cold”. I wish it were more dramatic, that descriptor. Something like “The Phlegmatic Flare-up” or “The Pulmonary Piranha”, because at times it feels as if evil little fish are swimming around in my lungs causing all kinds of pain and mischief. But, alas, I am left with no other categorization than “I have a cold.” It’s not a very impressive illness and everyone seems to respond by saying “Oh, me too.”

Sometimes, the most emotionally difficult hurdles to jump are seemingly the smaller ones. The co-worker that talks behind your back, the friend who stands you up, the spouse that just doesn’t seem to care about what you’re going through to the extent that you want him or her to. I find that it’s not the dramatic challenges and difficulties that are the most dangerous; it’s the little ones that don’t seem to be or shouldn’t be so hard. No one can fully understand or comprehend that the small and seemingly insignificant difficulties that we encounter every day are the ones that sap our energies the most. And it’s during those times that we need to be most on our guard. You see, the common cold can become pneumonia if it is not dealt with appropriately. And the small stressors can become roots of bitterness and anger that can lead to bad decisions and chronically bad attitudes.

Solomon stated in his “Song of Songs” that it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine and the Apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 10:13 that: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man [there’s that word ‘common’ again!]. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” So my encouragement to you is not to let those “little” frustrations fester and begin to fetter you. Instead, give them the appropriate attention they need, and then, before God and in the presence of a trusted friend or counselor, allow these wounds to be appropriately dressed and healed and may your physical and emotional “colds” soon be healed!

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